Love, adventure and community: Nettie celebrates her century

With piercing blue eyes, a ready laugh and a philosophy that life is best lived with curiosity, kindness and a sense of humour, Resthaven Paradise and Eastern Community Services client, Mrs Jeanette ‘Nettie’ Davidson (née Cotton), has spent a lifetime bringing energy and warmth to the communities around her.

Now celebrating her 100th birthday, Nettie’s vitality, generosity and youthful spirit remain as strong as ever.

Born in Broken Hill in 1926, Nettie had four older siblings and later a younger brother. Tragically, Barbara, a twin to her sister Betty, died at the age of just 18 months.

Her father was something of an entrepreneur. Having left school at just 16, he built a career in insurance with AMP in Broken Hill and travelled widely through the outback meeting pastoralists and miners. Education was highly valued in the family, and the Cotton children were sent to boarding school in Adelaide. The girls attended Walford Anglican School for Girls while the boys went to St Peter’s College.

For Nettie, the journey to school itself was an adventure.

‘We used to catch the train from Broken Hill to Adelaide, with a 3am stop at Terowie,’ Nettie says. ‘We would have to get off and board a different train because of the change in track gauge.’

During the war years, the trains were often crowded with soldiers.

‘I remember it being full of army men who were on their way to Darwin,’ Nettie says.

School life left a lasting impression on Nettie, who excelled and was appointed to house captain, a role that carried extra responsibility during wartime.

‘There was some worry about invasion,’ Nettie says. ‘We would do drills in the middle of the night to get everyone out of their beds and to safety. As a house captain I had to make sure the younger girls were alright, and comfort them if they were frightened.’

Nettie was fond of the teaching staff and was inspired by their love of literature.

‘One teacher taught us Shakespeare,’ Nettie says. ‘We would each stand up to read out the parts and then she would stop and ask us to think about the language and what Shakespeare might have meant. It was wonderful.’

After finishing school — where she studied French, English, History and Geography and completed a shorthand course — Nettie returned to Broken Hill and began working in her father’s office, typing and taking shorthand.

In her late teens, Nettie remembers joining her father on a 10-day trip into the bush while he visited pastoral clients.

‘We camped out in the bush and slept on camp stretchers with a campfire for light and warmth,’ Nettie says.

At one point they ran out of petrol on the banks of the Darling River.

‘We could see a homestead on the opposite bank, and we yelled and waved our arms until someone spotted us. Of course, they already knew we were coming — the bush telegraph!’

Back home in Broken Hill, Nettie discovered another passion — theatre. She joined the Broken Hill Repertory Society and appeared in several productions.

‘In one play the character had auburn hair, so I dyed mine,’ she laughs. ‘My father didn’t know what was going on! I’m a thespian at heart.’

Meeting Torben

It was through a social event in Adelaide that Nettie met the man who would become her husband, Torben. She had travelled to the city for a friend’s debutante ball and was paired for the evening with another young man. But arriving at the dancehall, her attention was drawn elsewhere.

‘I saw this marvellous looking young seafarer standing at the top of the staircase,’ Nettie says. ‘Our eyes went bang.’

After being introduced, the pair danced and exchanged contact details. Torben had to return to Melbourne to get back on his ship, but he detoured through Broken Hill to see her again.

‘I told him to meet me at the post office at 5pm after work,’ Nettie says.

By chance, her mother drove past at exactly that moment and saw her daughter talking to a uniformed officer.

‘Mother pulled over and asked Torben if he would like to come to dinner. Within five minutes of getting home, Dad had taken him into the study for a “word”.’

Though his work at sea often kept Torben away, the couple wrote letters to one another and saw each other whenever possible.

They married in 1948 when Nettie was 22 and Torben was 26. Around the same time, Nettie’s father and brother had purchased a timber mill in Oberon, New South Wales. The newlyweds settled nearby in the small rural community of Shooters Hill and Torben swapped the sea for life on the land.

Nettie and Torben lived in a modest three-room house and ran a mixed farming operation growing peas, oats and potatoes as well as raising fat lambs.

‘We grew fields of peas for Edgell’s,’ Nettie says.

The years that followed were busy ones as their family grew: Christian was born in 1949, Andrew in 1951, Joanne in 1954 and Rosalind in 1956.

Life in the country required initiative and community spirit. When Nettie realised there was no local school building for the children, she took matters into her own hands and arranged for an abandoned nearby schoolhouse to be located nearer.

‘I wrote to the school board and said we needed a teacher,’ Nettie says.

The department agreed, provided someone could board the teacher.

‘For the first year, the teacher boarded with us,’ Nettie says. ‘But after that, I thought “this is ridiculous!”, so we started a parents and citizens group and shared the load.’

Farming is never an easy life, and in 1962 the family faced a challenging year. A virus in the seed wiped out an entire pea crop overnight and there were also problems with footrot sheep. The children were also approaching high school age.

‘We owed money on the property and felt we had no choice but to sell,’ Nettie says.

The family moved to Adelaide, beginning a new chapter in May 1962. They settled in a modest rental home on Glen Osmond Road, Fullarton, found with the help of Torben’s mother who lived in Adelaide.

‘It was really hard,’ Nettie says. ‘The children had come from a little country school with about 15 students and suddenly they were at Glen Osmond Primary where there were 30 students to a class.’

For high school, the boys attended Pulteney Grammar, while the girls followed Nettie’s footsteps to Walford.

Back to the seas

Once settled in Adelaide, Torben took on various jobs, including white ant termination, selling white goods, working at a brick kiln and insurance.

‘One day when he was at Port Adelaide, he noticed a sign that read: Wanted: First Mate for William Holyman and Son,’ Nettie says. ‘He came home and told me he had the job. What could I do? It was in his blood – it really was his true vocation. Even when he wasn’t working at sea, he would sing sea shanties and talk of the ocean.’

This work enabled Nettie and Torben to buy a house in Milton Avenue, Fullarton.

Torben went on to study for and achieve his Captain’s degree in Melbourne, cementing his leadership position on the seas.

With Holyman’s travelling between Adelaide and Tasmania Torben’s work often meant time away from home, sometimes for a fortnight, and later, one week on and one week off. This left Nettie to manage the household and raise the children.

‘It was really jolly hard,’ she admits. ‘Once he came home and disagreed with a parenting decision I had made. I said, “I am home and you are not — you have to accept what I have decided.”’

In 1969 Torben gathered the family around the fireplace to make an announcement.

‘‘Your mother and I have something to tell you,’’ he began.

The surprise was that another baby was on the way. Angus was born in March 1969.

‘I suggested we might just slip it casually into conversation,’ Nettie laughs. ‘But, Torben was very formal about it. It certainly surprised everyone.’

As the children grew older, Nettie found time to pursue creative interests. She took up watercolour painting and studied under respected teacher, Ruth Tuck.

Torben’s mother was heavily involved with the Royal South Australian Society of Arts, and Nettie became very interested also, strengthening her love of painting and art – a pastime that is displayed on the walls of her home at Mitcham where she continues to live independently with support from family, Resthaven and other providers.

‘Torben’s mother was a wonderful lady,’ Nettie says. ‘Her philosophy was “Close your eyes and open your arms,” meaning don’t judge people by appearances and embrace differences. She was such an important figure in our family.’

Beyond the arts, Nettie has devoted enormous energy to community life. She was an active member of the Anglican Church at Glen Osmond for many years, served on the committee of the First Glenunga Scouts, and volunteered with school parents’ associations and tuck shops. The Davidson family have had a long association with the Waite Arboretum, and Nettie volunteered there in the gardens for more than 25 years. She also assisted refugee families through the South Australian Council of Churches outreach programs, helping newcomers find housing and connect with services as they settled in Australia.

In 1976, Nettie joined the Wool Gatherers Weaving Guild, learning wool spinning and weaving. She produced many beautiful woven items, including large floor rugs, wall hangings and bags.

Torben retired from the sea in 1982 and joined Nettie in many voluntary pursuits. Sadly, Torben died in 2013, and their eldest son, Christian, died in 2017.

Nettie will celebrate her upcoming birthday with an intimate family lunch followed by a larger gathering of friends and loved ones at the Fullarton Park Community Centre.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful story, Nettie! Congratulations on 100 years lived with enthusiasm, kindness and love.